U.N. Inspectors: U.S. Used Forged Reports

Associated Press ^ | March 8, 2002 | WILLIAM J. KOLE

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

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U.N. Inspectors: U.S. Used Forged Reports

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By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS - U.N. weapons inspectors cast doubts on U.S. assertions about Iraq (news - web sites)'s weapons programs, saying Baghdad is cooperating with inspections and that some documents presented as evidence were forged.

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Special Coverage

Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that experts had dismissed as counterfeit documents that allegedly showed Iraqi officials shopping for uranium in Africa two years ago.

ElBaradei, who made his strongest statement yet in support of Iraqi cooperation, also rejected a Bush administration claim that Iraq had tried to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes to use in centrifuges for uranium enrichment.

"There is no indication of resumed nuclear activities," he said.

Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix welcomed Iraq's "proactive" cooperation with his teams but didn't declare Iraq free of weapons of mass destruction.

Blix noted that Iraq is now providing inspectors with proactive cooperation, something he had asked for repeatedly through the winter.

However, Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said the United States was still convinced Iraq was hiding banned weapons.

"I think I have better information than the inspectors," Powell said in an interview with ABC anchor Peter Jennings. "I think I have more assets available to me than the inspectors do."

However, CIA (news - web sites) Director George Tenet has said all relevant intelligence had been passed to the inspectors.

Blix said that even with continued cooperation from Iraq, it will take some time to ensure that Iraq has carried out key remaining disarmament tasks which he intends to present to the Security Council later this month.

"It will not take years, nor weeks, but months," he said, stressing that even after this is completed, Iraq should be subject to ongoing inspections and monitoring of its facilities.

Iraq's destruction of its Al Samoud 2 missiles constitutes a "substantial measure of disarmament," Blix said.

"The destruction undertaken constitutes a substantial measure of disarmament. We are not watching the destruction of toothpicks. Lethal weapons are being destroyed," he said.

The chief inspector, whose teams are responsible for the hunt for biological, chemical and missile programs, said Iraq had recently provided additional documentation on anthrax and the VX nerve agent.

"Many have been found to restate what Iraq has already declared."

In a veiled jab at the United States, he said inspectors had been unable to verify some claims about hidden Iraqi weapons and asked again for more information about suspect sites.

ElBaradei told the council that the IAEA found no evidence to support reports that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger.

"Based on thorough analysis, the IAEA has concluded, with the concurrence of outside experts, that documents which formed the basis for the reports of recent uranium transactions between Iraq and Niger are in fact not authentic," he said. "We have therefore concluded that these specific allegations are unfounded."

"In the past three weeks, possibly as a result of ever-increasing pressure by the international community, Iraq has been forthcoming in its cooperation," ElBaradei said. "I do hope that Iraq will continue to expand the scope and accelerate the pace of its cooperation."

He reported again that in the area of nuclear weapons, inspections were moving forward.

"After three months of intrusive inspections, we have to date found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq."

[chiller]

Not sure whom I'll be most happy to be rid of; Iraq, or the UN.

[chiller]

Peter Jennings was almost hostile towards Powell during a sit-down interview segment shown on 20/20 last night. I wanted to bitch slap the guy, but Powell kept his cool.

[Green]

While I had very little confidence in the inspectors before yesterday's circus event, I now have zero confidence in them and their ability to analyze anything since they are just now "considering" requesting scientist interviews outside Iraq. If they can't see the importance of this and requested this from day one - how can anyone with any amount of common sense think they have the ability to assess whether or not a document is authentic. It takes a little imagination and creativity to even come close to matching wits with what Saddam is capable of doing and these two gentlemen in charge are sadly lacking in that area.

For all we know, Saddam is the one that told them their document was not authentic.

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

I heard Blix about 1 week ago. He was asked about the intelligence he receives from the U.S. or UK. He claimed that the inspectors get quite a lot of info. He also said that, most of the time, they follow the leads and they find absolutely nothing.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

In the long run, getting rid of the UN will be better than getting rid of Iraq.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

the funny thing is that Powell was the darling of the media not long ago. they always framed him as the one who counter balanced Bush and the other right wingers in the administration. apparently, now that Powell is aligned (he probably always has been) with the "right wing" of the administration regarding Iraq, the media (aka liberals) have no use for him.

[gulfcoast6]

PANIC is setting in. JOB LOSS A REALITY.

[Green]

Probably the reason they find nothing is that Iraq is tipped off to what they are looking for and by the time they finally get around to looking, it is gone.

I've heard reports that are not exactly what Blix says about them following up on the intelligence info they have received. The report I heard was that they have only been able to follow up on a very small fraction of amount of the intel they have received.

[prairiebreeze]

These UN inspectors are going to be exposed for the morons they are soon.

Given a choice between believing information from the US Secretary of State or some lacky at the UN...my $$ is on Powell every time.

Prairie

[ClancyJ]

More of the whitewash by Saddam, inspectors and France/Russia/Germany to hide their total sell-out to Saddam for profit while they themselves - members of the U.N. Security Council - undermined their own U.N. resolutions.

France/Russia/Germany have taken down the U.N. and are now in bed with Saddam. I feel the inspectors are profiting in some manner for joining their whitewash.

[ClancyJ]

Proof of above theory.

"After three months of intrusive inspections, we have to date found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq."

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

Powell is a product of Affirmative Action and proud of it. As such, he probably believes that the 'aim' always justifies the means. I don't believe he should be trusted. He seems to be the kind of guy who would lie and betray without hesitation if it were to his advantage.

Here's a gem from About.com (August 2000)

http://uspolitics.about.com/library/weekly/aa080200a.htm?once=true&

Powell Might Work for Gore
General's Admission Shocks Republicans

About.com Poll

Colin Powell's admission that he might work for Gore is:

	No big deal.
	Evidence that he's not really a Republican.
	Evidence that he can't be trusted.
	Evidence that he's above politics, and only looking out for the good of the country.
	I don't know.

Current Results

Retired General Colin Powell, who only Monday night delivered the keynote address at the Republican Convention, tells ABC that he'd consider working for Al Gore if he becomes president.  Does Powell's admission undercut Bush, and more importantly, what does it say about Powell's politics?

Retired General Colin Powell shocked Republican convention-goers Tuesday by telling ABC's "Good Morning America" that he'd consider working for Democrat Al Gore if the sitting VP won the presidency.  "If he were the president, I would have to take it under serious consideration,'' Powell reported told ABC, when asked if he could work for Gore (source: Associated Press). 

"If he were the president, I would have to take it under serious consideration,'' Powell, on working for Gore.

Powell's simple admission speaks volumes about the general himself, but also about the wisdom of the Republican Party promoting a man who ideologically may not be their friend.

Perhaps most shocking was the fact that Powell would answer the question with anything other than a firm "no."  It is public knowledge that the Republicans have been courting Powell for the VP seat (which he reportedly has repeatedly refused), and it is also no great secret that Powell stands (or perhaps "stood") a good chance of becoming Secretary of State were Bush to become president.  Add to that the very high-profile keynote address the General gave the first night of the convention, and you've got a lot of reasons this man ought to have told ABC that he would never consider working for Gore.

So What?

Why is this such a big deal?  Because you don't pick a man as one of your top supporters, if the next day he admits that his loyalties don't really rest with either of the main parties.  Powell, you'll recall, refused similar job offers from President Clinton (Powell confidants say that the General is no great fan of the President).  Powell's seemingly rosier view of Vice President Gore suggests that he believes a Gore presidency wouldn't be all that bad, at least not as bad as Clinton's, and that Gore is someone he could possibly work with.  And if a war hero like Colin Powell, with an over 80% approval rating, thinks Al Gore might make an okay commander-in-chief, who is John Q. Citizen to disagree with him?  The impact could be devastating.

[MEG33]

The job of the inspectors is not to hunt for weapons.The Iraqis job is to fully disclose.The french called them the true referees ,the decision makers. Hogwash!

[piasa]

This article is a joke...

ElBaradei, who made his strongest statement yet in support of Iraqi cooperation, also rejected a Bush administration claim that Iraq had tried to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes to use in centrifuges for uranium enrichment.

Iraq did indeed purchase these items and ElBaradei's explanation was ludicrous no matter how you look at it. He has yet to explain why Iraq would need rocket fuselages of such exorbitant cost and high tolerances, much less why anyone would want such tolerances to apply to the interior as well as exterior of the rocket's skin. The fact is, it simply isn't logical, and certainly isn't practical. His explanation that they reordered the tubes with better and better tolerances because they were trying to improve rocket performance during an effort to reverse engineer the things is a simple lie, too. He also failed to explain why a program that was in the research stage only would require such a huge number of tubes. You don't order those quantities unless you're in the manufacturing stage- not that anyone would use this type of matrial with those specifications in the first place for disposable rockets. I believe the rockets are themselves a violation even if they were possible.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"There is no indication of resumed nuclear activities," he said.

Hmmmm...He may have something there. But let's try this again just to be sure...

The ruins of the Tammuz 1 Nuclear reactor at Al Tuweitha, Iraq after the Israelis "decommissioned" it on June 7th, 1981

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

Unfortunately, we all know who has nukes today and the means to deliver them to us within minutes.

Interestingly, North Korea's leader killed more of 'his own people' than Saddam was ever accused, is probably crazyer than Saddam, imposes a much stricter dress code on his people than Taliban did on the Afghans, allows absolutely no religion in his country, apparently maintains concentration camps, openly threatens to nuke us and his neighbors, threatens our aircraft in international air space, refuses all inspections, exports missiles and technology to rogue states and probably terrorists.

Well... our government is calmly calling this 'a regional issue' and calls for 'multilateral talks'.

How humiliating.

[mware]

Oh really, perhaps we should ask now why the UN and Blix just released that 163 page document.

[scooby321]

Tell that to South Korea or Japan , who will be Killed in Seconds Not the US

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

Iraq has missiles that 'could' fly farther than 90 miles (150 miles maybe?) and no nukes. Iraq is in the process of destroying those missiles.

North Korea has nukes and their missiles could carry them for thousands of miles. North Korea keeps making more of them and is developing longer range models that could hit any point within the U.S.

Question: who poses a danger to our national security?